Metering vending dispenser



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March 21, 1961 G. VP. TOTTEN METERING VENDING DISPENSER Filed Feb. 20,1959 ATTORNEYS ww wx u c a e REW I Q N HIN LM March 21, 1961 G. VP.TOTTEN METERING VENDING DISPENSER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 20, 1959INVENTOR 61185127 v? 7377;

BY 9' M ATTORNEYS METEG VENDING DISPENSER Gilbert vP. Totten,Minneapoiis, Minn, assignor to Advance Engineering Company, Minneapolis,Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Filed Feb. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 794,577

13 Claims. (Cl. 222-70) This invention relates to dispensers for usewith granular or powdered materials and particularly to mechanisms foragitating and metering the material to be dispensed. This invention isparticularly useful in coin operated vending machines wherein aplurality of ingredients are variably utilized to concoct beverages.

In vending machines the amount of material dispensed in one cycle ofoperation may be conveniently termed a throw.

It is an object of this invention to provide a dispenser wherein thethrow of material to be dispensed is continuously variable in sizewithout altering, changing any part or varying the timing of themachine.

It is another object of this invention to provide a dispensing machinehaving a plurality of dispensers sharing a common actuation controlwherein the throw of material of each dispenser is independentlyadjustable without substituting parts or aifecting the timing of thecontrol.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a dispenser havingan improved agitator for permitting usage of smaller and cheaper drivemotors for operating same while providing uniform density of thedispensed material.

It is another object of this invention to provide a dispenser having animproved agitator and an adjustable dispensing meter for sequentiallydispensing a multiplicity of equal sized throws of material wherein onedispenser is interchangeable with another by merely adjusting the meter.

These and other more detailed and specific objects will be disclosed inthe course of the following specification, reference being had to theaccompanying drawings, in which-- Fig. 1 is a simplified schematic of adispensing system wherein a plurality of dispensing units share a commontiming actuator.

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of an exemplary dispensing unit ofthis invention.

Fig. 3 is a partial sectional view taken along line 3 3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a partial perspective view of the underside of a dispensingunit.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of the agitator.

With reference now to Fig. 1 there is schematically shown fourdispensing units or bins disposed over mixing trough 12 such that thethrows of ingredients from each unit 10 falls in the trough. Valve 14passes hot water from hot water source 15 to trough 12' for mixing withthe thrown ingredients and washing the resultant mixture into cup orreceptacle 16. Selection of the ingredients are to be mixed, i.e., whatbeverage is desired, is determined by manually operable switches 18which selectively couple electric power from timer 20 to one or more ofthe dispensing units 10 as will become apparent.

The dispensing cycle is initiated by momentarily moving switch 22 to thealternate position for energizing relay 2,975,937 Patented Mar. 21, 19612 24 by placing the coil thereof across power input terminals 26 whichare connected to 110 volt A.C. supply. Upon return of switch 22 to theposition shown, hold contacts 25 which are now closed keep relay 24connected across terminals 26 through cam controlled switch 30 of timer20.

The return of switch 22 to the position shown also electrically connectsthe timing motor 31 across terminals 26 through relay switch part 32which was moved to terminal 34 as relay 24 was energized. Now operatingtimer 20 first cammingly moves switch 30 to the alternate position fromthe illustrated position to breakthe hold circuit of relay 24 and toconnect motor 31 across power input terminals 26. Relay 24 isde-energized returning switch part 32 to the illustrated position whichconnects water valve solenoid 36 across terminals 26 through switch 30to open valve 14 and also opens hold contacts 28.

Shortly after water flow has been established in trough 12 by valve .14opening, timing cam operated switch part 38 of timer 20 is closedthereby providing electric power to, one side of selection switches 18.Switches 18 determine by their setting which of the bins 10, each ofwhich contains one ingredient as labeled in Fig. 1, will dispensematerial to trough 12 in a particular dispensing cycle, the selectionbeing made prior to momentarily actuating switch 22. As shown onlychocolate will be dispensed because switch 18 connects the chocolate binto switch 38 while the remaining switches 18 are open. To select coffeeswitch 18 is moved to the alternate position which permits the selectionof sugar by switch 18 Cream is selectable =by switch 18.

A predetermined time after power has been supplied to the dispensingbins 10 timer 2th reopens switch 38 which stops the ingredientdispensing, and at a second but longer predetermined time thereaftertimer 20 moves switch 30 to the illustrated position thereby ending thedispensing cycle by closing valve 14 and stopping timer 20. Thedispenser is now ready to be reinitiated by switch 22.

With reference now to Fig. 2 there is shown an exemplary dispensing bin10 consisting of a rectangular hopper 40 containing material oringredients to be dispensed and having vertically spaced sides 40 and aV-shaped bottom 41. In hopper 40 there is disposed motor driven shaft 42having agitator 44 thereon with dispensing meter 46 operativelyconnected to one end of the shaft. An electric motor unit 48 removablymounted at the top of bin 10 includes electric motor 50 and a reductiongearing unit 41 operatively connected to shaft 4 2 for rotating same. Itis understood that the electrical .connections of motor unit 48 are asshown in Fig. 1, the motor being turned on and off by timer 20.

Dispensing meter 46 comprises a meter wheel 52 fixedly attached to shaft42 for rotation therewith and having four holes 54 for carrying materialfrom hopper 4t} upwardly under channel-shaped baffle 56 to aperture 53in bottom 41. To facilitate removal of shaft 42 and motor unit 48 frombin 10 bafile 56 is removably mounted on hopper 40 by hook end 56engaging the upper end of one wall 40 with the channel sides 56 of thebaffle fitting snugly against opposing walls id as best seen in Fig. 3.As seen in Fig. 2 a lower portion of baflie 56 extends in parallelspaced relation over one section 41 of V-shaped bottom 41. At the lowerend of batile 56 there is a V- shaped notch 57 having its vertex aboutthe shaft 42 and exposing a lower portion of wheel 52 to the material tobe dispensed.

Timer 20 (Fig. 1) operates motor unit 48 by closing switch 38 apredetermined time causing wheel 52 to rotate clockwise about onecomplete revolution. One throw of material is dispensed in a cycle byseveral holes 54 pass- 3L1 ing over aperture 58 during said wheels 52rotation to drop through the aperture a predetermined volume of materialcarried upwardly under bafiie 55 by wheel 52. Note that dispensing meter46 is mounted on an oblique as viewed in Fig. 2, one advantage of thisarrangement being that larger holes 54 may be employed in wheel 52without danger of material from hopper 4t) sifting through the vertex ofnotch 76 and the holes 53 to trough 12.

Since it is desirable in fabrication of machines to make as many partsidentical and additionally to provide maximum versatility at minimumcost, this invention provides means for adjusting the size of the throwwithout affecting any control of and without removing the dispensing binfrom the dispensing or vending machine. A valve member 60 is rotatablymounted adjacent the aperture on the lower side of bottom section 41 asbest seen in Fig. 4. As member 60 is moved upwardly, as viewed in Fig.4, a smaller portion 62 of a hole 54 is exposed to the aperture fordispensing a smaller sized throw. The undispensed portion of thematerial in hole 54 is carried by wheel 52 over member 60 and thencedownwardly back into hopper 40 as subsequent dispensing cycles areperformed.

To keep the dispensed material from clinging to the sides of trough 12 abaffle 64 is provided adjacent and below aperture 58 to direct the throwtoward the middle of trough 12. To facilitate checking the dispensingoperation and adjusmtent of member 60 three inspection holes 66 areprovided in the side 40 of bin 10.

The dispensing meter 46 dispenses a predetermined volume of material perdispensing cycle without regard to density of the material beingdispensed. Certain granular materials, such as coffee, tend to pack fromvibration of the machine and from exterior vibration sources. Ad-

ditionally, hydroscopic materials tend to cake forming lumps of materialwhich can cause variations in the size of the throw. To ensure uniformsize throws to keep the beverages tasting the same during a daysoperation when the amount of material in bins 1 vary from full to emptyan agitator 44 is provided to keep the material fluffed to asubstantially constant density.

An exemplary agitator built according to this invention is best shown inFigs. 2 and wherein stilf arm 68 extending radially outward from shaft42 is disposed to rotate immediately above dispensing meter 46. This armprovides a great amount of agitation directly above meter 46 ensuringequal flufliness in the throws. Attached to the radial extremity of arm68 is a spring wire 70 which is spiraled upwardly about shaft 42 in adirection oppo site to the shaft rotation. At the upper end of wire 70radial arm 72 is wrapped around shaft 42 for relative rotation andaxially held thereon between detents 74 and the lower end of tubularshaft 76 extending downwardly from gear reduction box 51. As spring Wire70 engages packed or lumpy material in hopper 40 it tends to augerdownwardly into the material, rotating about the upper end of shaft 42and forming more spirals closer to shaft 42 as shown by dotted lines '78in Fig. 5.

As motor unit 48 continues to rotate shaft 42, agitator 44 when engagingpacked material continues to auger into the material gradually windingthe wire about shaft 42 until the resistance of the material isovercome. When the latter happens wire 70 rapidly returns to the firstspiral state causing the material to be agitated upwardly therebyflufiing same. In this manner the material in a hopper may besufiiciently agitated to ensure relatively uniform sized throws ofmaterial throughout a days operations.

The just described dispenser requires but a relatively small motor tosuccessfully operate. The agitator in rotating about the upper end ofshaft 42 and angering down into the material presents less startingresistance than many other types of agitators wherein the agitator maybe more rigidly mounted on a shaft. Since electric motors are animportant item of expense in fabrication of dispensing machines there isprovided a relatively inexpensive dispenser.

It is understood that suitable modifications may be made in thestructure as disclosed, provided such modifications come within thespirit and scope of the appended claims. Having now therefore fullyillustrated and described my invention, what i claim to be new anddesire to protect by Letters Patent is:

l. A dispenser for granulated or powdered material, comprising a hopperhaving an angled bottom portion, a motor driven rotatable shaft, abaffle extending partially over the bottom portion of the hopper, thehopper bottom portion having an aperture located under the baffle,transport means immediately above the aperture and being operativelyconnected to the shaft for successively carrying predetermined volumesof material from the hopper and transporting same under the baffleupwardly to the aperture, and means disposed adjacently under thetransport means in cooperative relation with the aperture and thetransport means for adjustably retaining a part of the transportedmaterial in the transport means.

2. A dispenser for granulated or powdered material comprising a hopperhaving a V-shaped bottom, a motor driven rotatable shaft having anagitator thereon and being angularly mounted on the hopper such as to beperpendicular to a portion of the V-shaped bottom, a removably mountedbafide extending partially over and in spaced parallel relation to thebottom of the hopper, a dispensing meter wheel operatively connected tothe shaft for rotation therewith in a plane immediately adjacent andparallel to said portion of the bottom and partially disposed betweenthe baffle and the hopper bottom portion, the hopper bottom having anaperture under the bathe in cooperative relation with said meter wheelfor dispensing material carried thereby and being adjacent the distalend of said portion, and a valve member on the hopper bottom adjustablyextending into the aperture for retaining in the wheel predeterminedportions of material carried thereby.

3. A dispenser for granular or powdered material, comprising a hopperhaving vertical sides and a bottom consisting of two sections angled toform a V with the vertex of the V being the lowest point in the hopper,one angled section having an upper end portion with an aperture therein,a battle extending in parallel spaced relation to said one section andover the aperture, a

motor unit attached to the upper end of the hopper, a rotatable shaftoperatively connected to the motor unit and disposed in the hopper atright angles to said one section, an agitator on the shaft, transportmeans relatively non-rotatably attached to the shaft and disposed inparallel relation to the one section and extending radially outwardlyfrom said baffle toward said bottom vertex and further extending underthe baffle to the aperture, and a valve member rotatably supported onthe underside of the one section for rotation upwardly in parallelrelation to the section for adjustubly blocking lower portions of theaperture to retain material to be dispensed in said transport means.

4. A dispensing meter for use in dispensing granular or powderedmaterials, comprising rotatable means for carrying material to bedispensed, a removable bafiie extending over the means and having an endwith a V-shaped notch having its vertex adjacent the center of saidmeans, a bottom to the meter and being in spaced relation to the baffleand having an aperture adjacently under said means and disposeddiametrically opposite to said notch, and a valve member on the bottomin adjustable covering relation to the aperture for retaining some ofthe material in said means.

5. A dispensing meter for use in dispensing granular or powderedmaterials in a vending machine, comprising a baflle forming a verticallyoblique plane, a meter 'wheel having a plurality of material carryingspaces and rotatably mounted under the bafile in close spacedparalhighest point of the meter wheel, and a valve member rotatablysupported on the bottom for rotation into partial material blockingrelation to the aperture for retaining some material in said spaces asthe meter wheel rotates over the aperture.

6. A dispenser for ranulated or powdered material for use in vendingmachines and the like, comprising a hopper having a bottom, a baffleextending over and in spaced parallel relation to the bottom, the bottomhaving an aperture of adjustable size disposed under the bafile, a motordriven rotatable shaft in the hopper having a met-er wheel at one enddisposed between the baflie and the bottom and extending outwardly fromunder the baffie, an agitator on the shaft comprising a spring wirehaving one end mounted just above the bafiie and spiraling upwardlyabout the shaft and rotatably connected to the upper end of the shaft.

7. A dispenser for granulated or powdered material for use in vendingmachines and the like, comprising a hopper having a bottom, a bailieextending over and in spaced parallel relation to the bottom, a motordriven shaft in the hopper having a meter wheel at one end thereof andpartially disposed between the baffie and the bottom and partiallyextending outwardly from the bafiie along the bottom, the bottom havingan aperture in juxtaposition with the wheel and spaced diametricallyopposite said outward extension of the wheel, a valve member on thebottom for varying the size of the aperture, and an agitator on theshaft comprising a stiff radial arm on the shaft just above the baflieand a spring wire attached to the radially outward end of the armspiraling upwardly about the shaft in a direction opposite to shaftrotation and rotatably connected to the shaft near the upper endthereof.

8. A dispenser for granulated or powdered material for use in vendingmachines and the like, comprising a hopper having a bottom, a baflleextending over and in spaced parallel relation to the bottom, a motordriven shaft in the hopper having a meter wheel at one end thereof forcarrying material under the battle, the bottom having an aperture underthe baiiie for passing material from the wheel out of the dispenser, avalve member adjacent the aperture and rotatably mounted on the bottomfor rotation into material blocking relation to the aperture, anagitator on the shaft comprising a stifi radial arm on the shaft justabove the bafiie and a spring wire attached to the radially outward endof the arm and spiraling upwardly about the shaft in a directionopposite to the shaft rotation and having a radial leg formed near theupper end thereof and which is loosely wrapped around the shaft forrelative rotation therewith, and means for holding the radial leg frommoving axially on said shaft.

9. For dispensing varying amounts of granulated or powdered material, ahopper having a bottom, a bafie extending over and in spaced parallelrelation to the bottom, a shaft in the hopper having material carryingand metering means at one end thereof adjacent the baflle for carryingmaterial thereunder and extending substantially the spacing between saidbaifle and bottom, the bottom having an aperture under the baffle forpass ing material from the means out of the dispenser, control and motormeans operatively connected to the shaft for recurrently rotating theshaft a predetermined time to successively carry predetermined amountsof material under the bafile, a valve member adjacent the aperture andbeing rotatably mounted on the hopper bottom for rotation into materialblocking relation to the aperture and material retaining relation to thecarrying means for retaining predetermined portions of the carriedmaterial in the latter means.

10. Ina dispenser for agitating powdered or granular material having atendency to pack or cake, a unidirectionally rotatable motor drivenshaft having a radially extending stiff arm adjacent one shaft end, aspring wire attached to the radial outward end of the arm and spiralingabout the shaft toward the other end in a direction opposing shaftrotation direction, the wire being rotatably and axially stationarilyassociated with the shaft adjacent the other end, and during shaftrotation the wire being windable thereabouts for decreasing the shaftrotational load as the wire engages packed or caked material to "beagitated.

11. A dispenser for powdered or granulated material comprising arectangular open top hopper having a vertical spaced apart sides andwith a bottom having two sections vertically angled between two opposingsides to form a V with one section having an aperture therein, a motordriven shaft disposed perpendicularly to the one section and havingtransport means at one end in communicative relation to the aperture,baflle means having a hooked upper and an angled lower end portion andbeing slidably insertable into and removable from a material sealingrelation to opposing sides of the hopper which are adjacent the onesection, and the lower portion extending partially over the transportmeans in spaced apart parallel relation to the one section when thebafile means is in material sealing relation to the opposing sides, thetransport means being operative upon shaft rotation to carrypredetermined volumes of material under the baflie angled portion forbeing dropped through the aperture, and means being movable intomaterial blocking relation to the aperture for retaining a portion ofthe volume in the transport means.

12. A dispensing machine having a single timing control, a plurality ofdispensers operatively connected to the control for being operated alike period of time, each dispenser having a hopper and an aperture, ameter in each dispenser responsive to the control for carryingpredetermined volumes of material to be dispensed from the hopper to theaperture, a valve member movably mounted on each dispenser foradjustably covering the aperture for partially retaining material in themeter to be returned to the hopper, material mixing means incommunicative relation to all the apertures, and when the dispensers areoperatively connected to the control and the apertures are incommunicative relation to the mixing means the valve members beingindependently manually adjustable for adjustably covering the aperturesto vary the amount of material dispensed.

13. A dispensing machine having a single timing control, a plurality ofdispensers operatively connected to the control for being selectivelyoperated thereby a predetermined period of time, each dispenser having ahopper with an apertured bottom, a meter in each dispenser responsive tothe control for carrying predetermined volumes of material to bedispensed to the bottom aperture and a valve member movably mounted onthe bottom of at least one of the dispensers for adjustably andstationarily covering the said bottom aperture for retaining material tobe dispensed within the dispenser, whereby the volume of materialdispensed is varied in the one dispenser without effecting the singletiming control.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,224,082 Drake Apr. 24, 1917 2,228,421 Taylor Jan. 14, 1941 2,380,647Henderson July 31, 1945 2,576,620 Martin Nov. 27, 1951

